Yet none of that is why they are the talk of spring training. It is their young players, notably first baseman Frankie Freeman, outfielder Jason Heyward and pitcher Tommy Hanson, who started against the Mets yesterday.

So just when the Mets thought it was safe to focus solely on their current tormenters, the Phillies, an old nemesis appears to be reloaded.

“Are they contenders?” Omar Minaya said. “Yeah, they are contenders.”

The Braves famously won 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, the final 11 as the NL East champs. The Mets broke the string in 2006, and the Phillies have rallied to win the past two crowns. The Braves have finished third, third and fourth last year.

And, in many ways, their offseason was more painful than finishing 18 games under .500. They were on the doorstep to obtain Jake Peavy, Rafael Furcal, A.J. Burnett and Ken Griffey Jr., and were publicly humiliated in each occasion.

Then career-long Brave John Smoltz left acrimoniously for Boston. Atlanta over-reacted by giving Derek Lowe a four-year, $60 million contract, which was more than $20 million greater than the Mets’ offer for a player whom Atlanta had begun the offseason with little-to-no interest in obtaining.

Yet despite all the angst, the Braves emerged from the offseason looking like a legitimate threat to crash the Phillies-Mets mano-a-mano in the NL East.

They need the oft-injured Chipper Jones to remain upright and this new stance for Francoeur to revive his career. If they get that, their offense should be among the NL’s best.

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said the bullpen “could be great if we stay healthy.” The three key components Mike Gonzalez, Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano all have battled injury problems in the last year.

The rotation also was devastated by injuries last season to Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton and Tim Hudson. The response was to obtain two of the majors’ most durable starters Lowe and Javier Vazquez. Over the past seven seasons, Vazquez (1,502″) has the third most innings in the majors and Lowe (1,456) the ninth. Jair Jurrjens, who broke out last year, Japanese import Kenshin Kawakami and Glavine fill out the rotation.

But in Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, Kris Medlen and, especially, Hanson, the Braves feel they will have a strong Triple-A base. Even on a day in which he lacked command, Hanson showed yesterday high-end, across-the-board stuff, especially with his curveball.

“He stands up on the mound in charge like Josh Beckett and has the breaking stuff of Kevin Appier,” one scout said of Hanson.

Cox offered this praise: “He is in with Smoltz (as a prospect). And that is saying a lot.”

Hanson is part of a farm system that enters this season ranked fourth in the majors by Baseball Prospectus, even though they have used such touted prospects as Elvis Andrus and Neftali Perez (for Mark Teixeira) and Tyler Flowers (for Vazquez) in recent trades. Both Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America rank five Braves among the majors’ 90 best prospects.

ESPN ranked Heyward as the majors’ third best prospect, and the ball sizzled off his bat and over the center fielder’s head yesterday albeit against the withered Freddy Garcia. Cox likened the 6-foot-5 Heyward to Fred McGriff as a hitter, though he projects to be a five-tool right fielder.

“He’s a grown man in a young man’s body with a great attitude,” one scout said.

He is 19 and a projectable lefty masher. So is Freeman, also 6-foot-5. This highlights a system that could help the Braves this year with ready personnel (notably Hanson and center fielder Jordan Schafer) or via high-end trade.

So the prospects look bright for the Braves, both in the minors and in the NL East.